Over the last 50 years there has been increasing use of charismatic large mammals and birds as ‘flagship species’ to raise funds and promote the ethos of conservation. However, species chosen to appeal to donor and membership groups may not necessarily be considered popular among local communities. A growing recognition of the need to engage local communities in conservation makes them an increasingly important audience for information about conservation. In such situations an awareness of the local perception and value of different species is central to choosing effective flagships. Emphasising this, we propose 10 criteria for the selection of flagship species. We then describe three examples of local flagship species and assess their use against these criteria: the Asian elephant Elephas maximus for the conservation of landscapes in Aceh, Indonesia, the flying fox Pteropus voeltzkowi for forest protection on Pemba Island, Tanzania, and the ceiba or kapok tree Ceiba pentandra for the conservation of forests in Belize.

This paper presents the results of a mammal survey conducted between 1995 and 1997 in the newly established National Park of Upper Niger in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. Ninety-four species of mammals were recorded in the park area and its environs; 19 of these species were newly recorded or confirmed for Guinea. The fauna of the park includes about 50% of the known mammalian diversity of the country. Among the species found are West African endemics such as the Gambian mongoose Mungos gambianus. The park, although situated in the Guinea savannah belt, includes some remnant forest, which harbours tropical forest mammals such as Thomas's galago Galagoides cf. thomasi, hump-nosed mouse Hybomys planifrons, soft-furred rat Praomys rostratus and flying squirrel Anomalurops sp.. This National Park is a high priority area for the conservation of the vertebrate diversity of West Africa.

The Falkland Islands are situated in the South Atlantic and have a native flora of 171 vascular plant species. Although a relatively high proportion of the native flora is of conservation concern, this is poorly recognized, both nationally and internationally. Typically, threatened species occur as only a few small, isolated populations, and they are facing increasing pressure from land-use change, particularly agricultural intensification. This paper presents the first national Red Data List for the Falkland Islands, and provides an overview of the 23 threatened plants of the archipelago as well as covering another 16 species of relevance to the national conservation strategy. This Red List provides an important first step towards the recognition and conservation of the threatened native flora of the Falkland Islands at both the national and international level.

Senna spectabilis is a tree native to South and Central America. Thirty-five years ago it invaded the Mahale Mountains National Park in western Tanzania where it presently covers c. 225 ha. We quantified its occurrence relative to that of sympatric species of native trees, and compared girdling and felling as methods for its control in three 0.25 ha plots. Within invaded areas of forest this exotic species was both the most abundant and dominant of the 26 species of tree recorded. During 4 years of monitoring the experimental plots the abundance of S. spectabilis declined markedly in the plots where control methods were practised, but increased slightly in the unmanipulated plot. In contrast, the abundance of native tree species increased markedly in the plots where S. spectabilis had been removed or killed, with higher densities in the girdled rather than the felled plot. S. spectabilis appears to suppress the recruitment of native trees in the Park, and its removal can encourage regeneration of the degraded forest without the need for artificial seeding.

Since 1993 the Serengeti Regional Conservation Project (SRCP) in Tanzania has conducted a game cropping operation (the commercial utilization of wild animal populations in natural habitats) in areas immediately outside the Serengeti National Park in order to provide adjacent villages with incentives to abstain from illegal hunting. In this study we carry out a comparative economic analysis of the SRCP cropping operation and illegal hunting. The extent of illegal hunting was mapped by utilising questionnaires distributed to Village Game Scouts employed in five of the Project villages. Our research indicates that the cropping operation is not economically sustainable and makes only a minor economic contribution to the Project villages compared to illegal hunting. Furthermore, cropping quotas are small, utilization of quotas low, and the level of community involvement limited. Illegal hunting was extensive around both Project and other villages. We suggest that SRCP discard the inefficient cropping operation and instead concentrate on diversifying income opportunities for the Project villages.

Surveys between 1995 and 1999 brought the number of mammal species known to occur on the remote Sangihe and Talaud islands, Indonesia, from 34 to 37, of which 30 are indigenous and 22 are bats. Populations of bear cuscus Ailurops ursinus and Sulawesi small cuscus Strigocuscus celebensis are represented by endemic subspecies, whilst five little-studied species (Talaud Islands flying fox Acerodon humilis, Sangihe tarsier Tarsius sangirensis, Sangihe squirrel Prosciurillus rosenbergi, short-tailed Talaud melomys Melomys caurinus and long-tailed Talaud melomys M. talaudium) are endemic to the archipelago. Two squirrel species were recorded on Sangihe for the first time: Sulawesi dwarf squirrel P. murinus and Sulawesi giant squirrel Rubrisciurus rubriventer. In total, eight species occurring on the islands are categorized as globally threatened on the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Habitat loss and hunting are the main threats on the Sangihe islands, where only 800 ha of primary forest remain. Large areas of Karakelang, in the Talaud Islands, are still forested, and a 24,669 ha wildlife reserve has been recently established. The main pressure facing mammal species on the Talaud Islands is hunting, particularly mist-netting of fruit bats for local consumption and trade. In order to control hunting and prevent further forest loss and degradation, future conservation efforts should focus on community-based conservation, in particular raising community awareness and increasing law enforcement. Two concurrent projects are now tackling some of these issues.

During 1993–2000 the conservation status of forest buffalo Syncerus caffer was investigated in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park region, northern Congo. Data from dung counts collected during a number of ecological reconnaissance surveys in and around the National Park showed that the preferred buffalo habitat was open canopy swamps and forest clearings associated with watercourses. Buffalo abundance was very low in terra firma forest more than 250 m from water, and signs were restricted to large elephant trails connecting watercourses and clearings. The clumped distribution of the buffalo appeared to be a result of the highly patchy distribution of their food resources. In terra firma forest preferred food species were poorly represented, whereas in open swamp and sedge clearings they were more abundant. Low overall numbers, highly patchy distribution, small group size, and low effort-high return for hunters, including sport hunters, mean that buffalo must be considered a conservation priority in this environment.

The Critically Endangered Père David's deer Elaphurus davidianu became extinct in the wild in China in about 1900, and the only surviving animals were held in captivity at Woburn Abbey in the UK. During 1985–1987, individuals were returned to China, and subsequent growth of the captive population in enclosures at Dafeng Reserve necessitated a trial release of a small group of deer as a prelude to further releases. Seven individuals were released into the unfenced coastal region of the Dafeng Reserve in 1998. Behaviour, daily activity rhythm, habitat selection, activity range and body condition were recorded for six months after release. The deer exhibited initial changes in behaviour, but returned to their pre-release patterns about four weeks after release, and by six weeks after release their body condition had improved compared to their previous condition in captivity. They left the Reserve and began to forage on farmland, causing conflict with local people. Further releases should be into areas with either a natural or artificial boundary in order to avoid unmanageable levels of conflict between the needs of the deer and those of farmers.

Rhesus monkeys Macaca mulatta and people have coexisted for many years in Vrindaban in Mathura District, Uttar Pradesh, India. The monkeys are highly valued both by locals and pilgrims to the area, in part because of their quasi sacred status, but during the last two decades the increasing human and monkey populations of the township have led to severe human-monkey conflict and a decrease in people's respect for the monkeys. To ease this situation one of the world's largest ever translocations of monkeys was undertaken. In 1995, 30 groups of rhesus monkeys, comprising an estimated 1,338 individuals, were recorded in Vrindaban. Of these, 12 groups, a total of 600 individuals, were translocated in January 1997 to eight sites in seminatural forested areas within the same District. A post-translocation study indicated that the translocated monkeys were settled and appeared to be exhibiting normal behaviour. This study indicates that translocation of commensal monkeys to forested areas can be a successful technique for their rehabilitation.

We investigated management of wildlife, habitat and the hunting programme in Aksai County, Gansu Province, People's Republic of China, during 1997–2000. Argali Ovis ammon is the focal species both for conservation and hunting. The hunting programme is intended to produce incentives to conserve wildlife and habitat. Poaching, a serious concern throughout western China, has been reduced in recent years in Aksai. Wildlife population trends are unknown because standardized surveys were begun only in 2000. Threats to argali in Aksai include livestock grazing, placer gold mining, and development of a dam, reservoir and aqueduct. The number of hunters participating in the programme (c. 3 per year) could provide considerable funding (c. $60,000 per year), but the allocation of these funds within China has provided too little for conservation at the local level, thus undermining the intended incentive system. Because local wildlife protection officials have been denied both funding and authority to deal with threats to the wildlife, the programme's contribution to conservation has been minor. We recommend that hunters pay fees directly to county-level staff, thus increasing the proportion of funds retained at county-level, and that this added income is used to obtain wildlife grazing rights on important seasonal habitats for argali. These changes would promote local wildlife conservation without the need for additional external funding.

The population of the Mayotte brown lemur Eulemur fulvus fulvus on the island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean was reported to have decreased by 50% between 1975 and 1987, from 50,000 to 25,000. From a series of censuses carried out in 1999 and 2000 in the various vegetation types of the island, we estimate that the lemur population now numbers 42,000–72,000. The decline observed in 1987 may have been largely caused by the cyclone that devastated Mayotte in 1984. That the population has recovered must not obscure the fact that loss of forest, increased human pressure associated with further development of infrastructure, and changes in agricultural practices will undoubtedly continue to affect this species on Mayotte.

Wildlife (bushmeat or game) is the primary source of protein for most poor households in tropical forests, and its consumption is resulting in unsustainable hunting of large animals, even in isolated regions. As a result, loss of fauna is often a more immediate and significant threat to the conservation of biological diversity in tropical forests than is deforestation. Although the potential effects of the extirpation from tropical forests of large, seed predating and seed dispersing wild animals is poorly understood, it is likely that there will be irrevocable changes in the structure and function of these ecosystems. We carried out a survey of 510 households of Tsimane' Amerindians in the rainforest of Bolivia to investigate how the prices of game and meat from domesticated animals affect the consumption of game. The results indicated that the price of fish and meat from livestock is positively correlated with consumption of wildlife, suggesting that policy makers may be able to reduce the unsustainable hunting of wildlife for food by reducing the price of fish and the price of meat from domesticated animals relative to that of wildlife. Increasing the production of livestock without causing environmental degradation will require long-term public investment in agricultural research and extension, and substitution of fish for game meat in the absence of sustainable management regimes will result in over-exploitation of riverine and lacustrine fish stocks.

The Barbary sheep or aoudad Ammotragus lervia is widely distributed in the mountains of the Sahara and North Africa. The 2000 IUCN Red List assessment of the Egyptian subspecies A. l. ornata categorized this taxon as Extinct in the Wild. We present new evidence, collected during 1997–2000, that this subspecies is extant in both the extreme south-east and south-west of Egypt, and reassess the status of captive aoudad in Egypt. We recommend that the category of A. l. ornata on the IUCN Red List be changed to Critically Endangered, that conservation of wild aoudad in Egypt be prioritized, and that the subspecific status of both the wild and captive stocks in Egypt be reassessed.

Cuba has the highest combined animal and plant diversity, and the highest degree of endemism, in the West Indies. In 1998 we undertook the first major biodiversity survey of the Sierra del Cristal National Park, in the Holguín province in eastern Cuba, to address the need for baseline data on the wildlife of the forest habitats of this biologically important mountain range. This area was chosen because it is known to be a major stronghold of the endemic Cuban solenodon Solenodon cubanus (Insectivora, Solenodontidae). The project initiated and supported field activities of two Cuban institutions involved in nature conservation. The study focused on indicator taxonomic groups. We recorded a total of 220 species of plants, 53 spiders, 28 molluscs, 10 amphibians, 19 reptiles, 51 birds, and three species of mammal. The highest number of species were recorded in montane forest. Thirty-five percent of the taxa recorded are endemic to the area or to Cuba. Information gathered during the study will form the basis for developing long-term management plans for habitats and resident species, in conjunction with the authorities responsible for environmental conservation.